KeisterHollow

I'm thinking if we don't pick up a FA at the position of LG going into the season, then we'll see Sam Young as the starter there. He's looked decent in the opportunites he's had, IMO. It's a long ways to the pre-season and September. It's certain, though - especially now that Whaley will be in charge (he's not going to want his first year to be marred by little oversights) - that if Marrone doesn't think whoever the bunch is at LG is capable of playing at a high level, then they'll bring someone in. There are still options out there, and after the first few waves of cuts there'll be more.

Johnson does some things VERY well - his style of play is extremely valuable. Sure, he doesn't fit into the stereotypical #1 mold of very tall, very fast, go up and get the jump deep ball category, but if a team is lining up 2 WR's on the field with a couple TE's, or a TE and a few RB's, Stevie belongs on the field with another WR. The whole catagorization of WR's into roles is becoming outdated. Look at the Patriots - it's no doubt who their #1 WR has been over the last 3-5 years, and he's no longer there, but Welker doesn't fit that traditional type, and the Pats regularly field the best offense in the league. Our Bills are going to be molding their style of offense after the Saints - in regards to having a bunch of WR's who are ALL FAST, ALL capable of running INTERCHANGEABLE routes. The point is, when Buffalo lines up, the defense isn't going to know whether Stevie, Robert Woods, Rogers, Graham, or even Easley or Goodwin, are running specific routes - which will force the defense to cover, or pay equal attention, to everyone. That was the key to the Saints potent offense those recent years, that all of their recievers were capable of hurting a defense, and a QB who could get them the ball. If Easley finally shows up, or Woods, Rogers, Graham, and Goodwin produce, we could have 2 to 4 WR's capable of putting up between 800 and 1000 yards. I'll take that type of diversity over one 1400 yard WR any day. Point: what some see as a weakness will be a strength of the Bills.

I've thought this for a while now - If I were John Murphy, or Schoop and Bulldog, I'd be openly going to this site for a conversation topic daily. That way it would give the fans - the really die-hard fans who use this site and talk Bills all year long - an interactive sort of device for getting their thoughts recognized and spoken about on air. Think about it - if it were John Murphy or WGR's 3-7 show - whichever thread is the most relevent to the day, and picks up the most steam during the day, gets picked up for the show, and some of our responses get read and discussed! We'd all be a little more thoughtful, I'd guess, on what we contribute, and it'd add a really nice dimension to being a Bills fan this time of year. Another thing - it could be the new Bills staff is so closed to the media that there'll be a lot less "inside" info going on. Although, in fairness to the subject, I am also of the opinion that the Bills are not discussed enough. I think certain hosts have been doing this for too long and have lost the creative approach to trying to keep the show fresh, have instead fallen victim to the thinking that "there's never anything really worhtwhile to talk about with this team" and have taken on a habitually bored mentality toward the team. There are, though, some guys like Joe B., for instance, who do the team and covering the team justice.

Well said! I also don't underestimate the value of representing oneself, creating an image - it's very important, and something I had a really hard time with about Nassib - he just mumbled through every sentence he spoke on tape. Confidence, power, authority - those things are communicated by language, both verbal and body language. That's what Nix and Marrone are talking about when they say he has the "it" factor. Most people don't recognize that like 85% of all communication between people is unconscious, and it's body language, and that type of language is hard to pretend, or stage. Either a person is confident and capable, or they're not. That's another thing I liked about Barkley - he was so in control, and so smart. EJ is too, but he's just plain bigger, and hopefull better, too. Best case scenario - Cam Newton without the ego and maturity issues.

I love the enthusiasm! Boy - he does have a nice throwing motion, a really tight spiral. He's going to make some plays, that's for sure - and these WR's look pretty promising, too! Woods looks faster than I thought, Kaufmann is making plays, and Goodwin is as fast as advertised. Those three have drawn the most attention so far, I'd say.

Hey, I understand anyone's gripe with Nix - I just happen to think a lot of people are a bit tough on him. He's not perfect, as I said - there are definitely great GM's in this league, and Nix isn't going to be confused with one of them - HOWEVER, if Manuel pans out, and the rest of this draft class ends up being as good as it seems, and Marrone and Pettine work out, NIX WILL LEAVE HAVING TURNED AROUND THIS FRANCHISE, LIKE IT OR NOT. Obviously he made some mistakes along the way, and obviously others have contributed to both the bad and the good, but if we turn the corner this year, I think people should give Nix credit where credit is due - he will have turned the team around, back into a respected team, and left it to Whaley in good all around shape (his drafts have been hit and miss, but the overall talent on this roster is pretty good).

That whole idea of "original, deadly weapon" is one I like. That is something that stood out to me after the draft, this offensive coaching staff is looking for "types" of players to create mismatches - and both the T.J. Graham / Goodwin mold of small and lightning quick, and the Kaufmann mold of huge and fast makes for terrific situational versatility for this offense. I love that our coaches are thinking about this stuff - and I can't wait to see how they eventually work all these "weapons" into the offense. Think about it - we now have one of the few QB's in the league who is both a gifted passer and a capable runner - in other words, a dual threat QB, which by itself causes teams problems. Add to that Spiller, a dynamic weapon who also needs to be specifically game planned for. Add to that these special type weapons at reciever in Goodwin and Graham, coupled with Johnson and Woods (who, incidentally looks quite fast himself!) and I just can't wait to see how we attack our opponents this year!

As much as I give Nix credit for finally bringing the Bills to a place where we could see them begin to be truly competitive, and I allow for his having to deal with a tough owner/control situation - I also admit that he's far and away A FAR CRY FROM BEING PERFECT. There are some things he's done that are close to being inexcusable, in my opinion (switching defenses back and forth in a matter of 3 years - and the consequential inability to draft appropriately for defense - it's only luck that the defense we want to run now is a combination of both 3-4 and 4-3, so that his flip flopping might actually have brought in desirable types on the defense; allowing Fitz to remain the top QB for so long, allowing Wanny to finish out the year, passing on Kaepernick and Wilson, letting Lynch go for a 4th rounder!). It's DESPITE those things that Nix has us finally in position to succeed. I don't get into "what if's"; I'm the type of person when if I like the present, I accept everything that's happened in the past as necessary to lead up to this point. I happen to like where we are now, so I'm not going to say I wish we would have done things differently. A lot rides on this year - but the only guy on the Buffalo Bills whose total career rides on this year is Nix. Everyone else will get a pass if things don't work out. That's the situation, and it's the situation Nix helped to create - and, I'm glad he still has a chance to right the ship and go out on top.

Well, as to the initial chart, it looks pretty close. I think there will be only one FB, and another on the PS. I think part of what they're doing with this influx of Safeties is that one or two of them will be flex CB's - so that, for depth purposes, and also alignment purposes, sort of like how we have swing tackles and Guards who can play center, too - we'll have our starting safeties, and the 4th or perhaps 4th and 5th safeties will also be the 5th and or 6th cornerbacks (A. Williams, Duke Williams both fit this mold); I just think they'll free up an extra roster spot creatively that way.

Nix has certainly made some mistakes as a GM. However, the truth is, none of us know the real scope of Nix's control, influence. We don't know for certain if Nix has the same resources at hand to lure potential coaches in, we don't know for sure if Nix has the same scope of control over the business/roster; however, we do know that when Nix took over he took over a DISASTER, and there were NO well known coaches who wanted to coach in Buffalo. Now, I believe Nix could have chosen a better prospect as a coach than Gailey, and yet, I also believe had Gailey hired a better defensive coordinator, he'd of made the playoffs by his 3rd year and we might still have him as a coach (something I'd despise). Whatever the case may be, Nix brought in enough talent that this time around, despite there being 8 Head Coaching vacancies in the NFL, one of the top candidates chose to come to Buffalo, and perhaps the top D.C. came to Buffalo with him. I'm on board with the draft this year, and all in all, I think Nix will look like an old genius if Manuel pans out, and if Marrone and Pettine are as good as they look to be capable of. It comes down to that, though - if Marrone is talented and Manuel plays good Nix will look good. Still, all things considered, I like what Nix has done to this point. I wouldn't have traded better decisions two years ago if it included a playoff appearance and Gailey still being here, because, ultimately, I think this game has to be about Championships and Gailey didn't have IT, whereas I think Marrone and Pettine DO.

I'm not so sure Buddy deserves all the "credit" for the types of players drafted over the last 3 years. I think Nix went after guys Gailey wanted to work with, just as he went after guys Marrone wanted to work with. Nix is just getting the players to his coaches, but I think his coaches are the ones deciding what type of players they want brought in.

Some people are going to blow every missed pass, every wrong read, by Manuel this summer WAY OUT OF PROPORTION. The kid can throw the ball - an ability in him that is almost like breathing in most of us - accurately enough to make most passes. Sure, he'll have bad days - as do all QB's - and he won't always look perfect on every play, BUT, it's the great plays, the big passes, the make-something-out-of-nothing plays that he'll make that are going to be the real game changers. Frankly, I'm not going to read too much into anything I read about this summer. We'll see how he plays come August, and then September. In the meantime, lets try not to over-analyze every word and every single pass this kid makes.

We didn't sign him because had we signed him, one of Bradham or Alanzo would have been relegated to 2nd string. Our coaching staff knows they want Bradham and Alanzo to be the starters going forward, so, by signing Dansby we'd of been stunting, or postponing, the development of either of these guys by a year. And, since I'm assuming our staff thinks this year will be competitive, but NEXT year will be, realistically, our championship run starting year - they'd want to get all the growing pains out of the way THIS YEAR. There won't be time for that stuff next year, so much. I'm all on board with this - and especially so if it means Manuel starts this year, too. Lets let these young guys who are going to be our nucleus get accustomed to the NFL and get their war scars together! BTW - this doesn't mean we'll suck this year. I really think we'll be making improvements as the year goes on and will be knocking on the WildCard door come December. Football isn't as hard as some of our previous coaches have made it out to be - it is only as hard as any particular coach MAKES IT OUT TO BE. We're going to be fighters this year, and we're going to surprise some people.

These "intangibles" are truly underrated - big time. Something I love about football, and the reason I watch the NFL so closely - if you take the measurables of every team right now (weight, height, speed, strength), of all the players at every position, and compare them to every other team, you'd have, I suspect, just about an even set of figures for each team. In fact, I'd guess the teams with the best combination of size and speed are not necessarily the best teams. So, what factors are inherent in the better teams that are absent in the lesser teams? Well, coaching - the schemes - and also playing as a team, that brotherhood, that knowledge of teammates that allows guys to play off each other, desire, motivation, heart. I truly believe most any team has enough talent to be a playoff team, and one of the best teams in the NFL, if they are coached right, if their players are giving it their all, and if players and coaches alike do not accept losing. That is a big one - and that is what makes guys like Tom Brady so good; he's got ordinary measurables, but he HATES losing, and he wants to be the best to such a degree that just winning regularly isn't enough - he wants perfection. Bill Walsh was the same way. I say that is the key that distinguishes the best teams from the rest - the best teams WILL NOT ACCEPT LOSING, and therefore will do whatever it takes to be the best. In today's NFL that is disappearing, as so many of the players are playing for money, and whether they win or lose makes little difference to them, as the home team isn't usually their home, either. That's why creating an environment where the players are a second home - they are a family - and each player wants to win for his teammates, and his focus is on being the best he can possibly be - that ends up really showing up on the field on sundays. Again - most good defenses are good because they're on a storied team with a history of great defenses, and coupled with good coaching, the players play to the identity of that team toughness - like the Steelers, Ravens, like the Jets became when Pettine and Rex arrived. That is what we finally have the good fortune to see coming to Buffalo, and I am so excited about it!

And who knows - perhaps Edwards would've been the second coming of Montana had he been drafted into a Walsh run team?

This is a fantastic trade for us - Sheppard was basically second to third string; we couldn't count on him to do anything other than NOT make plays. Whereas, Hughes has potential to be a one-dimensional pass rusher. We really don't have a lot of players on our roster that fit Hughes physical skillset. We have a bunch of OLB'ers that are versatile, but they're all lacking in top end speed. That's because we need our guys to be able to do more than just rush the passer; they need to be able to translate back and forth between 4-3 and 3-4 - but, strictly as a 3rd down pass rushing OLB'er, Hughes might be a 6-8 sacks a year kind of player. That's a need we had and filled with a guy who still has potential (he might be a bust, sure, but it cost us a backup to get a player who might "turn that corner" as Polian said, and who was "miscast" as Polian also said).

I don't think this is fair - however, it is speculation, and as such, shouldn't be taken any more seriously than mock drafts. Look at the defensive projections - its a 4-3; we're running a base 3-4. Still, like most have noted, I don't care what people think or say - they could have predicted the Bills at #1 - and we'd of thought it MORE ridiculous; point is, the Bills are the Bills, and we will get respect when we deserve respect. I COULDN't STAND watching this defense over the past 5 plus years. We weren't a defense worth respecting. And, with Gailey's insistence on starting Fitzpatrick, we lost credibility there, too - I mean, it looked ridiculous that we insisted on a QB who couldn't make necessary NFL throws. I want a team that is tough, that other teams DON'T WANT TO PLAY. When we get there, we'll deserve a good ranking - and if no one thinks we're good enough, it won't matter, because the Bills fans will know when we've arrived - it might be with a 9-6 season this year, or a playoff berth, but we'll know it when we see it - and, I think its coming with this staff.

All this "reaching" talk is nonsense! No one knows what any of the QB needy teams would have done had EJ been available after the Bills selected 16th - but, it's CERTAIN that everyone here would have been ready to burn One Bills Drive down had EJ been passed by Buffalo, and some other team came up and selected him, and he turned out to be a franchise QB - perhaps the only one of the group this year. Even a GOOD QB in the NFL is worth a top 10 pick. A QB who has a rocket arm, who is accurate, SMART, a good character guy, AND who can run - those traits - ala Cam Newton, and Kaepernick - don't last long on draft day for a reason. Guys like that simply don't come out every year. NFL personnel will tell everyone - there is no such thing as reaching - ESPECIALLY the teams that have traditionally drafted good, like Pittsburgh, for instance. They take who they like, and when that player ends up being a starter - it wasn't a reach, no matter where they were taken. One other thing - PLEASE do not cheapen our QB, and make the fans of Buffalo look stupid, and desperate enough, to accept AND COME UP WITH, a nickname for our QB based PURELY off the name of another QB drafted last year with no connection to our own QB!!!! Please! Lets give him HIS OWN nickname!!! NO EJ3 ala Robert Griffin III and NO SuperManuel ala Cam Newton we need one of our own...

Yes - the Bills have sucked, and the fans have tried to be hopeful and optimistic in the past two decades. However, I recall most years there were glaring weaknesses to start off the new regimes, and we hoped that we'd be competitive despite those weaknesses. Really, not since Gregg Williams have I been this optimistic. I wasn't fooled by Gailey - I knew we'd have to win despite Fitzpatrick and Wanny's defense. With Jauron, it was the poor offense/QB play. This year IS DIFFERENT. For one - this coaching staff looks far more promising than any we've had since Gregg Williams. I think it is better looking than even that. We have a really experienced, top-notch Defensive Coordinator who hasn't been making magic happen in his successes, but has a system - a philosophy - that has proven to work every year. Our players on that side of the ball are more than talented enough to be a top defensive unit in the league. On offense, we just got the 1st QB in the draft, and a bunch of exciting WR's. Add that to RB's we already know are good, and a decent O-line, and for the first time in a long time we have reasons to feel like we can win. It's not trying to convince ourselves that maybe this year Fitzpatrick will be a totally different QB, or Wanny will all of a sudden switch schemes, or that Donald Jones and David Nelson will all of a sudden become play-makers. This year we have players and coaches who are capable of winning - and a good enough roster to compete with probably 80% of the NFL, and in the NFL that 20% that is better than us can still be beaten with good coaching. So, yeah - we've had to get excited about football in Buffalo before, but we've not been as set up for success, legitimately, as we are this year, in a long time.

Nix's biggest fault was his choice of H.C. - but, after getting that coach, it's obvious he worked with Gailey and Wanny to aquire players. Either way - many GM's have had 5, 6, 7 years to build a team and never have made the Super Bowl. If this draft works out, Nix will have built a YOUNG, talented team that is set to only get better for the next 3 or 4 years. It took him a year or two longer than we'd of expected, but I LIKE the way this team is built. I like our roster A LOT. I think all I could ask for, roster-wise, as improvement, would be another top notch CB, a TE like San Fran's or New Englands, and maybe a proven NT or OLB, and LG. That's 4 or 5 spots on the roster that could be improved to have a Madden-esque roster. How many teams have the ideal player at every position? Not many. I'm really happy with where we are today, and where I see us going over the next few years.

That is an excellent way to put it - and accurate. I've been saying since after the draft, I think Kiko is going to be a beast, and the best LB we've had since Cowhert or Spikes. That's just icing on the cake, though - if Manuel is even top 16 QB's in the league, or if Manuel can take us regularly to 9 or more wins, then his pick is justified over and over. Heck, if Kiko ends up a pro-bowl LB, then the pick is justified, even if Manuel stinks it up. We had a need at LB, and who would have faulted Buffalo, at the time, if they'd of taken Ogletree or Jones with the 16th pick? It's going to end up being an amazing pick - and the draft as a whole, UDFA included, is going to be the turning point for this team. We are no longer the Bills of the past 20 years. This is a NEW team, and I can't wait to see these guys play!

Just this conversation has made me remember how much Buffalo has LACKED a big-time playmaking LB for tooooo long! I can't believe we've overlooked that critical position for as long as we have. I have high hopes for Kiko, but to have a LB who has the size to be a big-time hitter, and the tenacity and guts to go out and make those big hits, and the speed to come up on QB's and run down WR's and TE's - an all-around great MLB really can take away the middle of the field, stopping the run up the middle and taking away the cross routes and underneath stuff. I think we go LB heavy next year, depending on how well our guys pan out this year. Who knows - Bradham and Kiko could perform so good as to make that unnecessary; in fact, I have more suspicion of Mario and Manny's ability to handle the OLB roles than I do Bradham's and Kiko's ability to man the ILB spots. All in all, though - all the great defenses seem to have been built around great LB'ers.

There's just too much made of the whole "will he learn to be an NFL QB". We already know he can run the read option. If Washington and Seattle can install that offense and be successful with it, and San Fran, then Buffalo could, too. I'm not saying they will or should. We know he has the ability to escape pressure, to make plays with his feet. We know he can make fairly accurate throws and he's not limited to throwing within 15 yards - like his predecessor. Hackett and Marrone will design an offense he can run - and with the talent we now have at WR, and the decent O-line, and Spiller and Jackson, EJ is going to be able to make a play here and there and at the very least keep us in games. I expect he'll be able to do much more, and that he'll be considered in the same class as Kaepernick and Newton, but it's not like he's been drafted to go play in one specific offense that only the very smartest and the QB's who are best at reading the whole field can operate. This offense will SUIT HIM.

That whole "There's way too many changes for this team to be successful this year" mentality doesn't convince me - when a team hasn't surpassed 7 wins with a 3 year coaching staff, and that staff seems to be regressing, while running the simplist defense in the NFL, CHANGE is the only way the team is going to get better. Yeah, we have a new coaching staff and a bunch of new players, but lets not forget - THIS IS JUST FOOTBALL!!! These guys have been doing this their whole lives. All they have to do is learn their playbook - and they have the entire summer and early fall to do so - and, once the season starts, it's not a new team trying to do a whole years worth of work every week - it's a merely one-week-at-a-time game planning. Remember, Baltimore fired it's offensive Coordinator last year right before the end of the regular season, and the team IMPROVED enough to win the SuperBowl. It's fair to say had they not done that they wouldn't have been the SB winners. We can win this year. I'm not predicting Super Bowl. I am predicting 9 or 10 wins. And WE'LL BE GETTING BETTER from here out!

I believe he commented on his completion percentage being very high, on him being a winner at a big program, on his physical attributes, on his intangibles, and on his presence. There's not really much more the Bills or anyone can say already - I mean, we're seeing these guys get asked the same questions over and over again - and the truth is not very complicated: Manuel is a big, strong armed, accurate, fast, athletic, smart QB who is a little raw, but who has all the tools to be an excellent NFL QB. It's obvious it's on the Bills to groom him, teach him, and put him in the right situation. There's not a lot more to ask until we get into camp and start training. BTW - I really like Kaepernick coming out of college, as much as Newton, in fact. I believe most experts had Kaepernick as needing more time, being more raw, than Manuel. I don't know about anyone else, but if Manuel can turn into anything like Newton or Kaepernick - with the rest of the Bills offensive weapons, and the talent and Coordinator on Defense - this team will be tough.